Sri Lanka is temporarily blocking some social media networks and messaging apps, including Facebook and WhatsApp, it said Monday following attacks on mosques and Muslim-owned businesses in the worst unrest since Easter bombings by Islamist militants.
Several dozen people threw stones at mosques and Muslim-owned stores, and a man was beaten in the Christian-majority town of Chilaw on the west coast on Sunday in a dispute that started on Facebook, sources said.
Authorities said they arrested the author of a Facebook post, identified as 38-year-old Abdul Hameed Mohamed Hasmar, whose online comment "1 day u will cry" people said was interpreted as threatening violence.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.